WILL DEPOSITORY-CIRCUIT CLERKS

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104TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2025 and 2026
SB3269

Introduced 2/3/2026, by Sen. Bill Cunningham

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

705 ILCS 105/16.1 new

Amends the Clerks of the Courts Act. Authorizes a circuit court clerk
of any county to develop and maintain a will depository. Provides a
procedure for the clerk to accept for safekeeping a testamentary
instrument including a will, codicil, trust, or trust and one or more trust
amendments of a living testator. Provides that the depositor must deposit
the will with the clerk in the county in which the testator resided when
the will was executed. A depositor may be the testator or an attorney who
is in possession of the will with written authorization by the testator.
Provides that the clerk is not required to determine if the clerk's county
is the correct county for the filing. Creates a procedure for the clerk to
follow in accepting, keeping, and returning these documents. Allows the
clerk to charge a fee of $25 for each will deposited, and the clerk may not
collect a separate fee for additional documents concurrently deposited in
relation to a single testator or for a single joint will prepared for a
husband and wife.
LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b

A BILL FOR

SB3269
LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b
1

AN ACT concerning courts.

2

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
3
represented in the General Assembly:

4

Section 5.
The Clerks of Courts Act is amended by adding
5
Section 16.1 as follows:

6

(705 ILCS 105/16.1 new)
7

Sec. 16.1.
Will depository;
8

(a) The clerk may establish and maintain a will depository
9
for the voluntary safekeeping of original wills before the
10
death of the testator.
11

(b) As used in this Section:
12

"Certified death certificate" means a record of death
13
issued by a governmental vital records authority that is
14
certified as a true copy and does not include an
15
electronically transmitted certificate unless expressly
16
authorized by the clerk.
17

"Clerk" means a circuit court clerk.
18

"Depository" or "will depository" means the secure, sealed
19
repository for original wills established and maintained under
20
this Section.
21

"Depositor" means the person delivering the will for
22
deposit and includes:
23

(1) the testator; or

SB3269
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LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b
1

(2) an attorney who is in possession of the will with
2

written authorization by the testator.
3

"Sealed envelope" means an envelope approved by the clerk
4
that conceals the contents of the will and bears the clerk's
5
identifying marks, date of deposit, and index number.
6

"Testator" means the person who executed the will being
7
deposited and whose death will trigger release of the will.
8

"Will" means a testamentary instrument executed in
9
compliance with Article IV of the Probate Act of 1975,
10
including a will, codicil, trust, or trust and one or more
11
trust amendments.
12

"Withdrawal" means the physical return of the deposited
13
will to the testator or to a person authorized to receive the
14
will under subsection (j).
15

(c) A depositor may deposit a will of a living person with
16
the clerk in the county in which the testator resided when the
17
will was executed. The clerk is not required to determine if
18
the clerk's county is the correct county for the filing. The
19
clerk may assume, without inquiring further, that the
20
depositor of the will is correct about the testator's county
21
of residence.
22

(d) The clerk may charge a fee of $25 for each will
23
deposited. The clerk may also charge a $15 retrieval and
24
transfer upon death fee. The clerk may not collect a separate
25
fee for additional documents concurrently deposited in
26
relation to a single testator or for a single joint will

SB3269
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LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b
1
prepared for a husband and wife. These fees may be included in
2
the fee schedule established under this Section and may be
3
revised as provided in this Section.
4

(e) Upon receipt of a will under this Section, the clerk
5
may:

6

(1) provide the depositor with a receipt for the will
7

that may contain the information designated on the
8

envelope in accordance with paragraph (3) of this
9

subsection;
10

(2) place the will or wills deposited concurrently in
11

relation to a single testator in one envelope and seal the
12

envelope securely in the presence of the depositor;
13

(3) designate on the envelope:

14

(A) the date of deposit;
15

(B) the name, address, and telephone number of the
16

depositor;
17

(C) the name and last known address of the
18

testator as provided by the depositor;
19

(D) at the depositor's option, any and all of the
20

following information:

21

(i) alternate names by which the testator may
22

have been known;
23

(ii) the testator's birth date, and
24

(iii) the last 4 digits of the testator's
25

social security number; and

26

(E) with respect to each document enclosed:

SB3269
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LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b
1

(i) a short description of the document,
2

including, if shown, its date of execution; and
3

(ii) the number of pages in the document; and

4

(4) index the will alphabetically by the name of the
5

testator and by the alternate names set forth by which the
6

testator may have been known.
7

(f) An envelope and will deposited under this Section are
8
not public records.
9

(g) During the testator's lifetime, the clerk may:

10

(1) keep the envelope containing the will sealed; and
11

(2) deliver the envelope to:

12

(i) the testator;
13

(ii) a person authorized, in writing signed by
14

the testator and notarized, to receive the
15

envelope; or
16

(iii) a person, entity, court, or government
17

agency authorized to receive the envelope pursuant
18

to an order entered by a court of competent
19

jurisdiction.

20

(h) During the lifetime of the testator, the clerk may
21
release the deposited will only to:
22

(1) the testator in person, upon proof of identity;
23

(2) a person authorized in a written instrument signed
24

by the testator; or
25

(3) a court pursuant to order.

26
No other person may inspect, copy, or obtain information

SB3269
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LRB104 18611 JRC 32054 b
1
concerning the contents of the will.

2

(i) Upon presentation of a certified death certificate, or
3
by a certified copy of an order of court determining the
4
testator to be deceased, the clerk may promptly deliver the
5
sealed will envelope to the clerk of the circuit court of the
6
county in which the probate of the testator's will may occur as
7
determined under Section 5-1 of the Probate Act of 1975.
8

(j) Depositing a will with a clerk does not confer
9
validity on a will or any greater or lesser legal weight,
10
validity, consideration, or priority than any other will of
11
the same testator or testators under the provisions of the
12
Probate Act of 1975.
13

(k) The testator may withdraw the deposited will at any
14
time upon written request and proof of identity. A will
15
withdrawn under this subsection is no longer subject to this
16
Section.
17

(l) If 100 years have elapsed from the date of deposit and
18
the clerk has not received either a certified death
19
certificate or a withdrawal request, the clerk may destroy the
20
sealed will without further notice.
21

(m) The clerk is not liable for loss or destruction of a
22
will deposited under this Section, except for willful
23
misconduct.

24

(n) The clerk may adopt forms, affidavits, withdrawal
25
procedures, and other rules necessary to administer this
26
Section.

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